Commercial Recycling Tips

Recycling offers businesses a way to avoid disposing of the waste that cannot be prevented. Most businesses collect bottles, cans, paper, corrugated cardboard, batteries, toner cartridges and other recyclable items.

Design a system to make it easy. Have recycling bins and containers placed conveniently and with obvious marking so that employees do not have to wonder where or how.

Purchase products with minimal packaging. Less packaging, less recycling.

Use reusable or recyclable containers for shipping your products. Reuse newspaper, bubble wrap, packing peanuts, boxes or shredded paper for packaging or donate them to another organization.

Create a Waste Reduction Team who can communicate with the rest of the employees in a variety of ways. Most people will be already on board with this, but consider giving awards or prizes for the employee who creates the least waste or who comes up with the most creative recycling or reusing alternative.

Regular Employee Updates. Employees will feel a greater stake in the program if they receive frequent updates on the quantity of waste reduction.

Streamline your operations to reduce waste.

Use and maintain durable, easily repaired equipment and supplies and establish a regular maintenance plan for them.

Use long-lasting, reusable products such as ceramic mugs and reuse office supplies such as file folders and inter office envelopes.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Refuse. At Christmas, everyone can chip in to buy a goat or bees or chickens for someone in a third world country. Do you really want to exchange gifts that cost under $10 that you end up having to re-gift or send to the thrift store? Put that money to work usefully!Ten Thousand Villages or Bees Abroad